"They take da' pain out, make it somethin' good, somethin' good. Wear yer' blues well, colt, you gonna earn every drop of em'. Yer' gonna be tangled up in blues," the old stallion told Blues, presenting him with the saxophone.

Blues himself tells us of his life after that day and as he explores what it means to be "painted blue"; to hope, to fear, to love, to lose. He tells us as he learns what really makes a stallion a stallion, what it's like to leave something you love behind, and what risks one must face in life or risk becoming nothing at all.

All of this, Blues tells us, takes place against the background of critical moments in his life and as he travels the scope of Equestria from Manehattan to Ponyville and Appleoosa. All the while the songs he learns from his pain mingle with the one his mentor, Moody Blues, revealed within him...something unbelievable the old pony did to bring it forth.

How did Fluttershy acquire her "Freaky knowledge ah' sewin'!" as Applejack called it? The answer is simple, Rarity taught her! Yet a winter full of struggle takes its toll on the two and brings their friendship to the breaking point.

Wander is a city colt who works his way up through the ranks. Green Brier is gentry who holds to his ideals.

No two ponies in Equestria are probably more different, yet they both keep inside themselves a powerful secret. Both of them have memories of a time of horrific war fought by baffling creatures on a distant world. Of those creatures two have shown them what it means to be an officer, to be a soldier...and to be a friend.

In this story, the first of The Somewhere Cycle, Wander and Green Brier share with you, the reader, these memories. See if you can figure out who their beloved masters were and what horse they were in our reality before the story ends!

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Pony Joe awakens before the dawn each morning, readies himself for his day, and then walks through Canterlot's cold and silent streets to his doughnut shop.

Life has become pretty mundane for Joe, but as he serves his customers and chats with his regulars he realizes that he has come to rely on that repetition...he relies on it to keep from remembering.

As a casual utterance by a new customer sends Joe into a spiral of haunting memories we learn about his life...and what he must give up if he wishes to move beyond his past.

Equestria has fallen, and life for the ponies and those who they had protected becomes one of hardship as the land loses its magic.

Yet, there are rumors of a vicious pirate, the Purple Mare, and all she is doing to liberate the land. Outside the city of Port-au-Prance that mare, Twilight, waits as a familiar ship approaches...

Inspired by an image by KNA.

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"Oh," sings Pinkie Pie, "Today's a day of laughs, a day of jokes...a day for pranking lots of folks!"

Yet an plea from Applejack keeps Pinkie from helping Rainbow Dash with their planned prank. As a conspiracy is revealed Pinkie Pie's friends try their best to put one over on the greatest prankster in Equestria...but will Dash spoil it?

In the midst of autumn's splendor Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Applejack and Rainbow Dash head north to participate in the Hoftston Mare-athon segment of the annual Running of the Leaves.

Yet, as they meet the sea something seems to call Rainbow Dash down, down into the fog and uncertainty that rolls in from beyond the Everfree Forest.

What secrets of old Equestria hide in the deep woods and upon the silent shore?

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As the Cakes make a very special gingerbread house the act reminds them of their lives together; hinting at those they loved, challenges they faced, and the struggles that continue even after lovers say "I do"...

Inspired by the image "Artist Training Ground Day 22" by Egophiliac. Used with permission.